MANILA, Philippines – Senators have agreed to trim the number of congressional oversight committees in a move that is expected to generate an estimated P50 million in annual savings, Senate President Franklin Drilon said on Tuesday.

“We have reached a consensus that there is a need to rationalize the oversight committees so that we can save on public funds,” Drilon said in a statement.

“We will rationalize the oversight committees so that we will be able to save funds by the end of the year,” he said.

There are currently 35 oversight committees – 25 created by law and 10 by Senate resolutions.

Drilon said the Senate could generate an estimated P50 million in annual savings but the Senate leader said they have to decide which oversight committees would be removed and retained.

The rationalization of the oversight committees, Drilon said, was just one of the reforms to be implemented in the 16th Congress.

Oversight committees are ad hoc panels created by law or Senate resolution to monitor the implementation of specific laws.

It was former Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile, who first questioned the excessive number of oversight committees after the alleged misuse of the Senate funds was raised against him during the last Congress.

Enrile resigned as Senate President last June and is now the new Minority Leader.

Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines.

Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of INQUIRER.net. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.